Gettin Fishy

This afternoon I really wanted to take Carter to the aquarium so I skipped out on running and headed straight for the aquarium after picking him up.  He was extra clingy, as he typically is after a day at daycare, so he wanted to be held pretty much the whole time which was fine by me.  I tried putting him down a couple times to see if he wanted to walk and he started fussing, "momma, momma, momma" over and over while clinging to my legs.  So I swooped him back up and carried him around to see all of the animals. 

Each time I take him to the aquarium I am amazed at how different the experience is.  He has a different favorite animal, he oohs and ahhs more excitedly, he points and babbles, and now even says some words and interacts with the animals.  As always he was transfixed with the jelly fish.  There's just something about them that is soothing and calming to watch.  Then we made it to the area with beavers and otters.  We initially stopped at the beaver tank and he was pretty non-plused.  Not due to lack of trying on the beaver's end.  One of the beavers is very friendly and likes to swim close to the glass, eyeballing his visitors.  We headed on to the otters and there was one otter out swimming and with furry.  It was in and out of the water, twirling around and moving with a speed many times that of the beaver's.  Carter was very impressed and even clapped for the otter.  It was adorable.

Watching the otter flip around in the water.

Clapping for the otter.

As we left the area we stopped to watch the beaver a little bit more.  This time Carter was much more interested.  He tracked the beaver back and forth in it's area.  I kept telling Carter, "Here comes the beaver, say hello," and waving at the beaver.  Carter started waving at the beaver as it swam by and even blew a few kisses.  It was the sweetest thing.  While we were watching the otter someone brought dinner in for the beavers.  They had chunks of apple.  I was telling Carter what they were eating and said yum.  After that he pointed at the apples the one beaver was eating and said yum a couple times.

Waving to the beaver as it swam by.

Little man continues to impress me with all the ways he grows and changes.  He is such a sweet and loving boy.  I love all the things he's picking up and how he mimics things he sees us do.  He now reaches up and "suds" his hair to wash it in the bath tub just like he's seen me do.  He smiles, waves, and blows kisses.  He will grab my keys off the stand in our entry way and walk to the door, holding the keys up to the door knob like he's going to lock or unlock the door.  He also has the idea of how to open doors as well as turn on faucets.  He will reach and do the motions, he just doesn't quite have the strength to execute just yet.  One of his favorite thing to do at daycare is play in the kitchen.  He grabs a skillet or bowl and a measuring spoon or spoon and pretends he is stirring food.  By far my favorite thing he's doing right now, other than giving kisses, is reading books.  He will sit with a book in his lap, turn the pages, and make sounds like he's reading.  He will even roar for the animals on the pages.  I look forward to what he picks up next as well as how our next experience at the aquarium will be different from the one we had today.

Watching the sting rays.